{"id":15964,"date":"2025-10-24T22:37:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T04:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/coloradans-conflicted-over-promised-immigration-crackdowns-how-they-are-carried-out\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:35:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:35:37","slug":"coloradans-conflicted-over-promised-immigration-crackdowns-how-they-are-carried-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/coloradans-conflicted-over-promised-immigration-crackdowns-how-they-are-carried-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Coloradans conflicted over promised immigration crackdowns, how they are carried out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Protesters
Protesters picket outside of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement\u2019s office in Centennial as an unusually high number of people are summoned to appear for check-ins on Aug. 30. (Kevin J. Beaty\/Denverite, file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Over the last several months, Nicholas Pierce\u2019s work as an asylum, refugee and deportation defense lawyer on the Front Range has meant playing catch-up. The immigration policies and orders that seem to come on a near-daily basis from the federal government have been hard to keep up with.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview, Pierce tried to make sense of the latest effort by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which activists said was called \u201cFreaky Friday,\u201d offering unaccompanied immigrant children cash to self deport<\/a>, and potentially depriving them of the right to hearings. A local human services agency had reached out to him earlier in the day asking how it would impact the young immigrants in their care.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t answer. Instead he had to turn to others, including a contact at ICE, to figure it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is, in a lot of ways, much worse than what I had anticipated, much faster than I had anticipated,\u201d Pierce said about the impact the president\u2019s immigration crackdown has had on Colorado. \u201cI was an immigration lawyer during the first Trump administration, and there was just a lot more checks and balances in the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

With about 400 cases on his plate through his Denver-based firm Amistad Law, Pierce said he\u2019s seen firsthand how families and communities are being torn apart. He said many have had their legal statuses stripped away, through things like ending Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans<\/a> \u2013 many of whom sought refuge in Colorado<\/a>. Others, he said, have chosen to go into hiding for fear of being detained when appearing for their asylum interviews.<\/p>\n

Pierce, who is a former U.S. Army Reserve service member and whose work receives state funding through the Colorado Refugee Support Program, is one of hundreds of Coloradans polled by CPR News and other outlets in the Colorado News Collaborative who have expressed either complete opposition to or frustration with some of the ways Trump has carried out his campaign promise to close the southern border and reduce the number of undocumented immigrants living in the country.<\/p>\n

\"Immigration
Immigration attorney Nicholas Pierce sits at a table during an Afghan support conference with paralegal Swita Omari, right, in this undated photo. (Courtesy of Nicholas Pierce)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A small number we heard from say they support the president\u2019s actions, calling them necessary to free up government resources for things like housing and Medicaid for citizens or protect the country from socialism.<\/p>\n

Since the beginning of the year, the Trump administration has increased immigration raids across U.S. cities, including in Colorado, escalated tactics like sending the National Guard to back up ICE in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and reversed Biden-era policies, including allowing arrests at schools and churches<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What Coloradans are saying about immigration<\/div>\n

In the survey circulated by Colorado newsrooms, including CPR News<\/a>, a majority of the nearly 400 respondents said that, even if they supported some of the president\u2019s stated goals, they opposed some of the immigration enforcement tactics currently being used by federal agents.<\/p>\n

Specifically, Coloradans take issue with federal agents violating due process<\/a> and not focusing on deporting the \u201cworst of the worst\u201d<\/a> criminals.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI have no problem with deporting those convicted of felonies, but ambushing families is despicable,\u201d said a woman in Grand Junction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am in favor of the overall goal, but I do take issue with some of the practices,\u201d said a man from Broomfield. \u201cTreat people as human beings, even if they are criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n

A man in Durango summarized it like a report card. He gave efforts to close the border an A+, deporting criminals a C-, visa restrictions a D-, the use of ICE an F and described the use of the National Guard as illegal. He said Trump also failed in the area of \u201cPoliticalization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDeport criminals not workers,\u201d said a woman in Durango. ICE tactics like \u201cunmarked cars, civilian clothes, refusal to identify themselves should be eliminated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a waste of time to deport people contributing to the economy,\u201d said a man in Colorado Springs. \u201cI\u2019m more concerned with the affordability of housing and health care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe response has been too extreme and brutal,\u201d said a woman in Colorado Springs. \u201cIt targets too many law-abiding, legal, U.S. residents,: denying due process to detainees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Federal
Federal law enforcement outside the Cedar Run Apartments, where immigration raids are taking place early on Feb. 5. (Kevin J. Beaty\/Denverite, file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Evergreen resident Norman Sherbert said he believed the president was carrying out what he promised to do when elected and correct the previous administration\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not here to tell the government how to do their job,\u201d Sherbert elaborated via email. \u201cAll I know is that 11 or 12 million illegal immigrants<\/a> coming into our country, seeing pictures of the masses of people standing at our borders, and hearing of children without guardianship being used to gain entrance into the U.S. is not good policy. And, in the long run over the next generations, will have a deteriorating effect on our society and way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sherbert sees the administration\u2019s extreme measures as a necessary way to right the situation with the limited time and resources it has.<\/p>\n

At a flea market in Colorado Springs on a recent weekend, JoAnn Antaya said she believed Trump wanted to help people during his first administration but doesn\u2019t agree with the tactics being used today.<\/p>\n

A German-born American who remembered how difficult it was to adjust to a new culture as a child, Antaya believes society has lost its compassion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not care about our fellow man,\u201d Antaya, 63, said. \u201cSo it\u2019s easy to put a wall between here and Mexico because you know what? They have nothing to do with you. Heaven forbid if you should hand them a crust of bread. No, I\u2019m not happy with my country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like they\u2019re not compromising. They\u2019re not coming to a happy medium. They\u2019re just combative. And that\u2019s all it is: Argument, argument, argument.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Springs resident JoAnn Antaya poses with her dogs at her booth where she sells a variety of items at the Colorado Springs Flea Market. (Stephanie Rivera\/CPR News file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
What the polls say about immigration concerns<\/div>\n

Opinion polling suggests how Coloradans feel about immigration has a lot to do with where they live.<\/p>\n

A poll from the Colorado Health Foundation<\/a> released earlier this year looked at top issues facing Coloradans. It surveyed over 2,300 people across the state.<\/p>\n

It found that \u201cillegal immigration\u201d was a major concern for about half the residents surveyed, though the extent of the concern depended on where respondents lived, lower in urban areas (39%), versus suburban (58%) and rural (65%).<\/p>\n

Ninety percent of respondents on the Eastern Plains believe illegal immigration is a problem in Colorado compared to 46% in Denver metro.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, 20% of all respondents said the mistreatment of immigrants was an \u201cextremely serious\u201d concern compared to 42% of respondents saying it was \u201cnot too serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broken down by region, that concern fluctuated, with 44% of urban respondents saying mistreatment is extremely or very serious compared to 30% of suburban respondents and 23% of rural respondents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regional, the urbanity and the partisanship seemed to really be driving how folks react to those problems and react differently to the two different framings that we tested,\u201d said Lucia Del Puppo, senior vice president with the research firm that conducted the Pulse Poll.<\/p>\n

CHF spokesperson Katie Peshek says Pulse Poll findings are shared with policymakers to help them understand the real issues residents are facing and prioritize those concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a third of poll respondents pointing to government and politics as the state\u2019s leading challenge, it\u2019s clear that on issues like immigration, the cost of living and housing, Coloradans are ready for real action and solutions,\u201d Peshek said.<\/p>\n

\"The
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Denver Field Office Centennial. (Hart Van Denburg\/CPR News)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Meanwhile, a national Gallup poll<\/a> released this summer found that only 30% of Americans say immigration should be reduced, a position that has shrunk by fifteen points since last year.<\/p>\n

But the support for staunching immigration largely falls along party lines, with the poll finding \u201cRepublicans are the only group still showing at least plurality support for reducing immigration.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a recent national poll of registered voters<\/a> by The New York Times<\/em>\/Sienna, \u201c51 percent said they thought the government was deporting mostly people who \u2018should be deported,\u2019 while 42 percent said the government was deporting the wrong people.\u201d<\/p>\n

That poll, too, found respondents wrestling with the administration\u2019s aggressive tactics.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than half of voters, 53 percent, think the process of deporting people has not been fair; 44 percent said it was mostly fair,\u201d according to The New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

How Colorado leaders are responding to federal actions<\/div>\n

Some Coloradans praised the work of elected officials to stand in the way of federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has used his office\u2019s powers to fight against federal immigration actions, from defending in-state tuition for noncitizen students<\/a> to suing a sheriff\u2019s deputy<\/a> for involving ICE in a traffic stop that resulted in the detainment of a college student.<\/p>\n

In the spring, state lawmakers passed a bill<\/a> designed to protect undocumented immigrants from coming to the attention of federal authorities. And over the summer, Colorado\u2019s Democratic members of Congress toured the state\u2019s only immigration facility in Aurora<\/a>, only to leave with more questions than answers.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow speaks alongside, from left, U.S. Reps. Brittany Pettersen, Joe Neguse and Diana DeGette after Colorado officials toured the GEO Group-run ICE detention center in Aurora on Aug. 11. (Sara Wilson\/Colorado Newsline, file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado governments are in danger of losing federal funds<\/a> and the state is being sued by the federal government for so-called sanctuary policies<\/a>, but Democratic leaders have so far resisted the administration\u2019s pressure campaign, arguing immigration enforcement is not the state\u2019s problem.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean interagency coordination isn\u2019t happening. Despite state laws strictly limiting when officials can cooperate with ICE requests, state agencies were found to have provided federal immigration officials with Coloradans\u2019 personal information <\/a>in response to subpoenas several times this year. Those actions by the Polis administration have riled fellow Democrats and immigration advocates.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/div>\n

Even though state laws prohibit local law enforcement from helping federal agents, targeted immigration raids continue to take place across the state, including outside of metro regions. In the last couple of weeks, local news outlets have reported on an incident in Alamosa where ICE detained a family with a baby<\/a> inside a vehicle at gunpoint, smashing a car window, and a situation in Routt County where a county commissioner was blocked by ICE vehicles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Pierce, it\u2019s not just new policies that have made it difficult for him \u2013 or other lawyers \u2013 to do this job. He\u2019s seen announcements of immigration court judges resigning or being fired, resulting in longer processing times for cases. Clients are also being transferred to detention facilities out of state, making it hard to connect with their legal counsel and putting them at risk of being deported within days.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when it comes to hurting people, the system\u2019s gotten a lot faster. When it\u2019s come to helping people, the system\u2019s gotten a lot slower,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The majority of Pierce\u2019s cases involve Afghan men who fought alongside the U.S. military during the Afghanistan War and are now waiting to get legal residency. Most of them filed petitions in 2022 or 2023 but still don\u2019t have a court date set. With the reimposition of the so-called Muslim ban<\/a> by the Trump administration this summer, it has been difficult for them to be reunited with their families. Pierce says these policies betray a promise made by the U.S. government for fighting alongside its troops.<\/p>\n

The situation is leaving the men with two options: risk likely death to join their families back home or wait in the U.S, in the hope that their families will eventually be allowed to join them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s gotten so bad that Pierce has found himself for the first time ever advising people to seek asylum in Argentina or Chile. He\u2019s even started to offer powers-of-attorney services so that family or friends with U.S. citizenship can take control of bank accounts and other assets if their loved ones are rapidly deported.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve dedicated my life to this, but the good legal advice has become, \u2018Hide, or go somewhere else.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.or<\/em><\/a>g.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of residents react to Trump administration\u2019s policies and tactics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,904,315],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-immigration","tag-president-donald-trump"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15964"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20749,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15964\/revisions\/20749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15964"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}